Redhawks sit a victory away from 20-win mark

Only home games remain for the Southeast Missouri State women's basketball team, beginning with tonight's 7:~ Southeast will try to improve on its OVC record at home tonight.

30 p.m. tipoff against Austin Peay.

The Redhawks finish their regular season with four straight contests at the Show Me Center, and they also are assured of hosting a first-round Ohio Valley Conference tournament game.

"It's great to be at home and have our fans supporting us," senior guard Ashley Lovelady said.

Not that the road was unkind to the Redhawks.

Far from it.

But the Redhawks would prefer to play in the friendly confines of the Show Me Center.

Southeast finished its OVC road schedule undefeated for the first time in program history, going 10-0. The Redhawks are 4-2 in conference home games.

Lately, the Redhawks have thrived no matter where they've played. Southeast has won 10 straight and 15 of its last 16.

The Redhawks (19-6, 14-2) lead the OVC by one game over Samford as they chase their third straight regular-season title.

Austin Peay (5-20, 2-15) is 10th in the 11-team OVC and already has been eliminated from earning a spot in the eight-team conference tournament.

One of Southeast's few lopsided OVC wins of the season came Jan. 12 in Clarksville, Tenn., as the Redhawks prevailed 70-54.

That stands as the Redhawks' second-biggest margin of victory in a conference game as 12 of their league contests have been decided by 10 points or less. Southeast is 11-1 in those games.

But even the earlier meeting with the Govs was tight much of the way. Southeast led 29-24 at halftime before pulling away in the second half.

Janay Armstrong, a 6-foot-1 sophomore center, led the Govs in that contest with a game-high 20 points.

Armstrong, a transfer from West Virginia who became eligible for the second semester, is the Govs' top scorer and rebounder with averages of 11.6 points and 7.3 boards per game.

Freshman guard/forward Ashley Herring, the younger sister of Southeast leading men's scorer Jaycen Herring, averages 10.5 points for Austin Peay.

"Armstrong is a load," Southeast coach John Ishee said. "We'll have a tough game, just like all of them have been."

Lovelady said the Redhawks know better than to overlook any team.

"We can't take anybody lightly," she said. "We just have to take care of business at home, like we have on the road."

A win for the Redhawks tonight would give them their fourth straight season with at least 20 victories.

"That's always a nice milestone," Ishee said. "But we're going after a lot bigger things."